Ramiz Raja's remarks about Amir 'negative': Wahab Riaz

LAHORE: Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) selection committee member and senior team manager Wahab Riaz has called former cricketer Ramiz Raja’s remarks about Mohammad Amir “harsh” and “negative”, ARY News reported.

“Ramiz Raja’s remark regarding Mohammad Amir is exceedingly harsh and carries a distinctly negative connotation, yet everyone retains the freedom to voice their opinions,” Riaz said during a press conference where he announced the Pakistan squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand.

However, he said that every person has a right to express his opinion and he would not comment more on Raja’s remarks.

It is pertinent to mention that pacer Mohammad Amir and allrounder Imad Wasim made a comeback to the team after reversing their retirements last month.

Following Amir’s inclusion in the group that underwent training at Kakul camp, the former PCB chairman said that tainted cricketers should neither be forgiven and completely expelled from the sport.

According to Ramiz Raja, the 2010 spot-fixing scandal had tarnished the image of Pakistan cricket and the players including commentators from Pakistan faced hate from the international cricket fraternity.

On March 24, Mohammad Amir took to his official X (formerly Twitter) account and shared his decision to reconsider his retirement after ‘positive discussions’ with PCB officials.

“I still dream to play for Pakistan! life brings us to the points where at times we have to reconsider our decisions,” posted Amir.

A day before that, Imad Wasim reversed his decision to retire from Twenty20 international (T20I) cricket ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, slated for June 2, 2024.

In a statement issued on social media platforms, the all-rounder shared that he reconsidered his retirement after meeting PCB officials and will now be available to serve Pakistan in the T20I format.

Pakistan Squad for New Zealand T20 series: Babar Azam (c), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Amir, Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Zaman Khan.